Live Life Fearlessly

ON DEMAND ECONOMY

Towards the end of 2015, I discovered the on demand industry or some would call it the gig economy. However, I’ve already had experience through out my life working odd jobs. The longest I lasted in a company was a year and a few months. For me that was too long.

My first non paying position was in the Admissions office of my high school, I went on to become a camp counselor, worked as a secretary at a real estate law office and construction private company. The list goes on and on with a stunt as an Americorps vista, which lasted 2 years with 3 different companies. None of the positions lasted long, either because they were temporary or I quit. I realized very early in the job market that employers can be very toxic and I rebelled a little against that.

I never could wrap my head around people being stuck at a job they hated or tolerating abusive employers. I was not above telling authority how I felt. I was told on occasion that I don’t respect authority, when in fact authority is subjective and people who place themselves or are placed in leadership positions tend to abuse power.

Not having a degree or confidence enough in my ability to seek high corporate poaitions, I would settle for low paying and demeaning treatment before I would just quit in anger and frustration. After facing several situations where I was working hard, being overlooked and disrespected, I officially thew my hat in the ring. I was done with the 9 to 5 grind.

Below I will discuss and rate the on demand companies I become an independent contractor with in 2016 and how it changed my view on working and making money.

WONOLO: 4

What makes Wonolo stand out from the other three companies is that it offers freelancers an opportunity to work with different companies, build a skill set and also eventually get hired permanently.

What prevents me from giving this company a 5 is the fact that there are not as many companies to choose from on the platform, sometimes it’s hard to find work through the app and also there’s been several times when a freelancer is assigned to work for a company that is unaware how wonolo works making it awkward and sometimes a soul crushing experience. Just a little.

Hopefully, in 2017 they will iron out the kinks and there will be great improvement bringing the company to 5 stars.

POSTMATES:4.5

I don’t know if postmates was the first delivery service in NYC, but it was the first one I heard of. I would like to say this company has it all figured out and it’s the best at what it does. That would be a lie. In the beginning, when there was great customer service, I would have given this company a solid 5. Now that they’ve remove a majority of assistance to the couriers, this company is a 3. Why do you ask I gave it a 4.5? Despite the lack of customer service assistance, this company still beats the others on the list by over all. There’s always jobs readily available 24-7. Postmates embodies what New York City is…a city that never sleeps.

With the right equipment and information, you can easily make more than $1000 a week working as a postmates. You have the option of foot, bike or car delivery. For someone like myself who does not ride or own a bike, I will change that in near future, it’s very flexible. A few months ago, due to demand and weather; The week of the NYC marathon, I made $1000 in a week. That might not mean much to a lot of people, but I was pleasantly surprised that I could make that as a walker. I was generous with the rating system but if postmates reconstruction their customer service feature and bump the pay rate, they can easily be a 5 star on demand company.

UBER RUSH: 3

My frustration with Uber Rush in the beginning was that it over promised and under delivered, in more ways then one. After walking up and down Manhattan all day and only receiving 2 deliveries, I threw in my hat with UberRush. It took months and need for extra income to give them another chance. I recently came back to find that there’s more activity and jobs available. Postmates will soon have competition if Uber provides a larger array of deliveries, they need to watch out.

GRUBHUB: 2.5

Where do I begin with Grubhub? I just into delivering with grubhub excited. I left angry and felt violated. I heard so much about the company and wanted to see what they had to offer. I already had experience with delivery, so it would be a piece of cake. I was working nonstop, busting my butt to get deliveries out. I however, started noticing something funny with my payment summaries. It wasn’t adding up. I wasn’t getting the correct funds, I addressed the issue numerous times and nothing changed. I was fed up with the deceit and left vowing to never return. I took a long break from the company. I recently returned because there’s a slow down across all the current platforms I am operating on. I will wait to see if there’s improvement on their end or I will have no chance but to say this company is ” No Bueno”.

COMING SOON…

INSTACART

I’ve been on waiting list for roughly a year. I recently got in contact with staffing. Hopefully, I will get off waiting list and start working with them in 2017.

SHIFT GIG

I am currently working on finding time to schedule and complete the in person onboarding process. I’ve also heard great things about this company. It’s similar to Wonolo.